The Class of 1999

[Sxottlan]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v79/Sxottlan/class99b.jpg

No, not that one.

I'm talking about the films of 1999. Can you believe it's been a decade? 1999 was the year that turned my growing interest in film into a full blown love affair and made me want to find a career somehow revolving around movies. Well, that part did not exactly pan out (although I would work on a couple films the next summer), however it's ten years later and movies remain my main hobby and interest.

I believe I remember the year in film so well because that's when I first started publishing film reviews in the college paper. It had not be a good year academically. I was forced to drop out of student teaching three weeks before graduation and had to return in the fall for one more semester. It ended up being fortuitous. I didn't have many classes and was able to spend more time working at the paper. My first published review was for The Sixth Sense and it impressed the editor enough that I was able to write all semester and I had an absolute blast doing it.

I still have an old issue of Entertainment Weekly from that year that declared 1999 as the year that changed film making. I can still recall many of my film going experiences all this time later: wrestling with this odd feeling after my first viewing of The Phantom Menace that would take me years to finally acknowledge as disappointment (even after a personal record-breaking six screenings), my first trip to the local arthouse theatre in town to see Being John Malkovich and the only time I've ever actually moved to the edge of my seat when the twist is revealed in Fight Club.

So, now ten years removed, I thought it might be a good time to revisit some of those films. Namely, I thought I'd re-watch the films I currently have on my top ten from that year and see how they hold up. Some I haven't seen entirely since that year. Others I watch on an annual basis. I've already watched a couple of the alternates and will try to post some thoughts soon, but certainly welcome other people's thoughts on the year that was 1999.

My current top ten for that year has changed quite a bit from my first list. For a good laugh, here's the list I was forced to make up for a top ten article that year (weeks before the year actually ended):

1. Fight Club
2. Toy Story 2
3. The Sixth Sense
4. The Matrix
5. Bringing Out the Dead
6. The Phantom Menace
7. Eyes Wide Shut
8. Being John Malkovich
9. American Beauty
10.Three Kings

[B-side]

This should be interesting.

[trotchky]

Cool thread idea, especially because I agree with the general consensus that 1999 was one of the strongest years for film releases, like, ever.

Because it's inevitable, here's my own top five. All of these are masterpieces (and so is American Beauty, which would come in at sixth) that could easily be number ones in just about any other year.

1. Magnolia
2. Eyes Wide Shut
3. Beau Travail
4. Fight Club
5. The Loss of Sexual Innocence

[ledfloyd]

Eyes Wide Shut
Ghost Dog
All About My Mother
The Iron Giant
Toy Story 2
The Virgin Suicides
The Straight Story
Being John Malkovich
Three Kings
The Insider

pretty good year. there are better years, alot of the films that get it considered 'omg, best year evar!' (fight club, american beauty, magnolia, the matrix, the phantom menace) don't do a ton for me.

[Spinal]

1. Boys Don't Cry (Peirce)
2. The Iron Giant (B. Bird)
3. The Road Home (Zhang)
4. Holy Smoke (Campion)
5. The Straight Story (Lynch)
6. Three Kings (Russell)
7. Titus (Taymor)
8. The Loss of Sexual Innocence (Figgis)
9. The Sixth Sense (Shyamalan)
10. The Blair Witch Project (Myrick/Sanchez)

Good stuff.

[Ivan Drago]

1. Magnolia (Still my favorite film of all time to this day)
2. Being John Malkovich
3. Fight Club
4. Eyes Wide Shut
5. The Matrix
6. South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut
7. American Beauty
8. Toy Story 2
9. Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
10. The Iron Giant

Yep, great year.

[baby doll]

All About My Mother (Pedro Almodóvar)
Beau travail (Claire Denis)
Being John Malkovich (Spike Jonze)
The Dead Weight of a Quarrel Hangs (Walid Raad)
Eyes Wide Shut (Stanley Kubrick)
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (Jim Jarmusch)
Go (Doug Liman)
L'Humanité (Bruno Dumont)
Jesus' Son (Alison Maclean)
julien donkey-boy (Harmony Korine)
Magnolia (Paul Thomas Anderson)
Outer Space (Peter Tscherkassky)
Peppermint Candy (Lee Chang-dong)
Ratcatcher (Lynne Ramsay)
Rosetta (Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne)
Summer of Sam (Spike Lee)
Three Kings (David O. Russell)
Topsy-Turvy (Mike Leigh)
The Wind Will Carry Us (Abbas Kiarostami)

[trotchky]

1. Magnolia (Still my favorite film of all time to this day)

Mine, too.

[Raiders]

1. Ratcatcher [Ramsay]
2. The Limey [Soderbergh]
3. Election [Payne]
4. The Iron Giant
5. [B]The War Zone [Roth]
6. Titus [Taymor]
7. Rosetta [Dardennes]
8. Three Kings [O. Russell]
9. The Wind Will Carry Us [Kiarostami]
10. Limbo [Sayles]

[Grouchy]

1. Eyes Wide Shut
2. Fight Club
3. Magnolia
4. The Insider
5. Audition
6. Muertos de Risa [Dying of Laughter]
7. The Straight Story
8. South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut
9. Sweet and Lowdown
10. Buena Vista Social Club

HM: Any Given Sunday, Toy Story 2, Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai

[Ivan Drago]

Mine, too.

:pritch:

[Sxottlan]

Alternate:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v79/Sxottlan/Three-Kings.jpg

Three Kings: Directed by David O. Russell ***1/2

"Occupy Iraq? Do you want another Vietnam?"

First time seeing this in about eight years, I was surprised at how much I resisted parts of Three Kings. Among the first (and actually to this day, the few) films about the first Gulf War, the movie still has a raw energy about it. However, I found myself for the first time unaffected by some of the film's quirkiness.

The plot in the early going is still a fascinating one. Four soldiers go on a treasure hunt for gold after the U.S. Army defeated Saddam's army. Right away, a privileged frat boy atmosphere is established at the base camp, where soldiers who never saw any fighting are dancing with their guns (later repeated in Jarhead) to early 90's music. Right away George Clooney's character is the disenfranchised soldier without much set-up and his view is the film's view that the war was an energy grab of Kuwait as much for America as it was for Iraq.

The unauthorized mission to steal Kuwaiti gold back from the Iraqis (without, you know, returning it to the Kuwaitis) is the bigger picture in microcosm. I don't know if I can recall seeing a mainstream Hollywood film this blatant about war profiteering and all the under-the-table stealing in the chaotic aftermath of a war.

It's the look of the enemy soldiers I noticed more. The knowing looks from the Iraqis that the U.S. soldiers weren't there to liberate a village or do anything altruistic. They were there for profit, pure and simple. When a villager makes the obvious statement that four soldiers wouldn't be dispatched to liberate a town, I as a viewer felt embarrassment. That's potent.

And yet, come the straining earnestness of the shift in priorities, I started to question if I was along for the ride. Here came The Big Idea. Okay, that's upstanding and all but I was enjoying the goofiness. The film, which had been pretty free-wheeling and spontaneous, suddenly was put on a rigid path. Use of narrative structure to reinforce the moral awakening of the soldiers? I don't know, but the film was not as fun going into its noticeably protracted finale.

But is that such a bad thing? You can't deny the nobility of said awakening. And all these years later, I'm looking at things like the exploding cow and the Iraqi ass map as obvious holdovers from the era of Tarantino-inspired zaniness. Three Kings felt like a tribute to films like MASH and Apocalypse Now, but ten years later, I don't know if it has the same staying power. Well, does MASH anymore?

Certainly, the production was top notch. The cinematography helped cement the grainy, bleached out look pioneered in Saving Private Ryan the year before as the look for war movies to come in the next decade. The film also helped transition George Clooney from a TV star trying his hand at movies into a full-fledged Hollywood star. The only one who really didn't seem helped that much was director David O. Russell, whose output didn't exactly go up afterwards. Having read that he had only done small comedies before, I was very impressed by the action scenes in the film. A silent shot of family bliss torn apart by an explosion is incredibly affecting.

So, the wooden floor of Three Kings has grown creaky in spots in the intervening years, showing a few of the gears turning underneath, but it's still a very recommendable visceral rush and among the few visually-striking comedies out there.

[MadMan]

The only years from the 90s to rival 1999 are 1994 and 1998. I'm not sure if 99 or 98 is better, but I think 94 is still the best year of that decade.

1. The Limey
2. Fight Club
3. Toy Story 2
4. Three Kings
5. South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut
6. Galaxy Quest
7. The Sixth Sense
8. Office Space
9. Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
10. Sleepy Hollow

HM: The Blair Witch Project, RKO 281

Still much to see, of course.

[Pop Trash]

The only years from the 90s to rival 1999 are 1994 and 1998. I'm not sure if 99 or 98 is better, but I think 94 is still the best year of that decade.


I'm still partial to 1997 myself; The Sweet Hereafter, The Ice Storm, Boogie Nights, Chasing Amy, Fireworks, Jackie Brown, The Game, and yes Titanic are some of my all time faves.

[Pop Trash]

That said, here's my top ten of 1999:

1. Being John Malkovich
2. American Beauty
3. Election
4. The Blair Witch Project
5. American Movie
6. The Straight Story
7. The Matrix
8. The Cider House Rules
9. The Talented Mr. Ripley
10. Office Space

[lovejuice]

truly, 1999 is a great movie year.

[origami_mustache]

I recently saw much of American Beauty on television which is the first time I've seen it since 1999 and I think I actually hate that film now.

[origami_mustache]

Julien Donkey-boy
Ratcatcher
Magnolia
Being John Malkovich
All About My Mother
Eyes Wide Shut
Peppermint Candy
Fight Club
Run Lola Run
Gemini

[MacGuffin]

I recently saw much of American Beauty on television which is the first time I've seen it since 1999 and I think I actually hate that film now.

Good call, it's one of the worst movies I've ever seen.

[Sycophant]

My list as of the consensus thread:

1. Kikujiro
2. My Nieghbors the Yamadas
3. The Iron Giant
4. Audition
5. Dead or Alive
6. Election
7. King of Comedy
8. Toy Story 2
9. The Mission
10. Being John Malkovich

Three Kings might actually belong up there. Maybe in place of Toy Story 2. Funny, I don't even really remember it being much of a comedy.

[Pop Trash]

Good call, it's one of the worst movies I've ever seen.

I still think it's better than the histrionic mope fest that is Magnolia.

[MacGuffin]

I still think it's better than the histrionic mope fest that is Magnolia.

I was looking at that at the library and almost picked it up, but decided not to for the reasons you mentioned and because I don't know if I want to risk 190 something minutes. Edit: Also because I remember turning it off about five years ago.

[Pop Trash]

I was looking at that at the library and almost picked it up, but decided not to for the reasons you mentioned and because I don't know if I want to risk 190 something minutes. Edit: Also because I remember turning it off about five years ago.

It's not bad, but it's a classic case of a director going hog wild after being showered with praise for his previous film. It's too long, too histrionic, and by the time all the actors have their supposedly moving sing along song 3 hours later, I felt more :rolleyes: than emotion.

[baby doll]

It's not bad, but it's a classic case of a director going hog wild after being showered with praise for his previous film. It's too long, too histrionic, and by the time all the actors have their supposedly moving sing along song 3 hours later, I felt more :rolleyes: than emotion.I like movies of crazy over-ambition. But then, I realize I'm talking to the guy with a Wendy and Lucy avatar, so maybe that's your cup of tea.

[MacGuffin]

I like movies of crazy over-ambition. But then, I realize I'm talking to the guy with a Wendy and Lucy avatar, so maybe that's your cup of tea.

Now I have to know: Did you like Synecdoche, New York?

[baby doll]

Now I have to know: Did you like Synecdoche, New York?Yes, very much so.

[Pop Trash]

I like movies of crazy over-ambition. But then, I realize I'm talking to the guy with a Wendy and Lucy avatar, so maybe that's your cup of tea.

I usually do too. I mean I loved Synecdoche, NY, Southland Tales, The Fountain, I Heart Huckabees, and plenty of other go for broke films. I also love the opposite extreme like Wendy and Lucy, Once, Paranoid Park, stuff like that. Magnolia was just too much angsty hand wringing for me. Plus the old testament ending has always bugged me.

[trotchky]

I still think it's better than the histrionic mope fest that is Magnolia.

What's the deal with people reducing movies to the most absurdly simplified premise possible to suit their opinions this days?

[Boner M]

I usually do too. I mean I loved Synecdoche, NY, Southland Tales, The Fountain, I Heart Huckabees, and plenty of other go for broke films. I also love the opposite extreme like Wendy and Lucy, Once, Paranoid Park, stuff like that. Magnolia was just too much angsty hand wringing for me. Plus the old testament ending has always bugged me.
You're saying that Paranoid Park isn't ambitious or risk-taking?

[MacGuffin]

What's the deal with people reducing movies to the most absurdly simplified premise possible to suit their opinions this days?

Actually, re-reading that comment, it does seem pretty hilariously simplistic, but after Synecdoche, New York, I'm not sure I immediately want to see another movie like this.

[MacGuffin]

You're saying that Paranoid Park isn't ambitious or risk-taking?

He's probably implying that those movies are more minimalist (I haven't seen Paranoid Park).

[trotchky]

Actually, re-reading that comment, it does seem pretty hilariously simplistic, but after Synecdoche, New York, I'm not sure I immediately want to see another movie like this.

Synecdoche, New York is absolutely nothing like Magnolia.

[Boner M]

1. Beau travail
2. Being John Malkovich
3. The Straight Story
4. Ratcatcher
5. Rosetta
6. The Insider
7. Outer Space
8. Summer of Sam
9. The War Zone
10. Election

RU: Office Space, Magnolia, The Limey, The Blair Witch Project, Three Kings, Fight Club...

Need to see again: L'Humanite, Bringing out the Dead, The Wind Will Carry Us, Ghost Dog

Need to see: Time Regained, Pola X

[Pop Trash]

You're saying that Paranoid Park isn't ambitious or risk-taking?

It takes risks but the filmmaking is on a more focused, micro level than the more sprawling, macro films I mentioned.

[Boner M]

It takes risks but the filmmaking is on a more focused, micro level than the more sprawling, macro films I mentioned.Hmm. I have my reservations about the film, but it is roughly 10x more formally inventive than the 'ambitious' films you mentioned.

[Pop Trash]

Hmm. I have my reservations about the film, but it is roughly 10x more formally inventive than the 'ambitious' films you mentioned.

Using slo-mo and Super 8 to Nina Rota now qualifes for "10x more formally inventive?"

[Raiders]

7. Outer Space

Thanks for reminding me I have been wanting to watch this on YouTube. Think I'll give it a go right now.

[Boner M]

Thanks for reminding me I have been wanting to watch this on YouTube. Think I'll give it a go right now.
I liked it when I saw it on YT, but a recent DVD viewing (from the excellent 'Experiments in Terror' compilation) on a decent-sized TV was a revelation. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts/reaction either way.

[Boner M]

Using slo-mo and Super 8 to Nina Rota now qualifes for "10x more formally inventive?"


What's the deal with people reducing movies to the most absurdly simplified premise possible to suit their opinions this days?
Mmm-hmm.

[trotchky]

Using slo-mo and Super 8 to Nina Rota now qualifes for "10x more formally inventive?"

This question is kind of unanswerable without a conjunctive phrase after that quote.

[Pop Trash]

Using slo-mo and Super 8 to Nina Rota now qualifies for "10x more formally inventive" than any films Boner decides aren't as formally inventive.

Fixed.

[Boner M]

Fixed.
Broke.

[trotchky]

Fixed.

I realize that I'm being horribly pedantic here, by the way, it's just that this sort of sarcastic half-discussion is starting to bug me.

[Raiders]

Thanks for reminding me I have been wanting to watch this on YouTube. Think I'll give it a go right now.

Whoa.

[Ivan Drago]

Dude, Where's My Car? - good

Yay! I'm not insane! :pritch:

[Pop Trash]

I realize that I'm being horribly pedantic here, by the way, it's just that this sort of sarcastic half-discussion is starting to bug me.

Speaking of being pedantic, Paz de la Huerta is a strange looking woman. Does she have a sunburn or something?

[MacGuffin]

Speaking of being pedantic, Paz de la Huerta is a strange looking woman. Does she have a sunburn or something?

Haha.

[Sxottlan]

I recently saw much of American Beauty on television which is the first time I've seen it since 1999 and I think I actually hate that film now.

Yeah. I liked it the first time, disliked it the second.

[Duncan]

Unrelated, but every time I see Sxottlan's av I think it's some guy running through a sheet carrying a gatorade bottle.

[MadMan]

Yay! I'm not insane! :pritch:Hey I liked that movie also. Sure it was stupid, but still pretty funny.


I'm still partial to 1997 myself; The Sweet Hereafter, The Ice Storm, Boogie Nights, Chasing Amy, Fireworks, Jackie Brown, The Game, and yes Titanic are some of my all time faves.Really I need to see more from that year, but I can agree that it was good/great as well. The only really down year from the 90s was 1990 imo.

Is Outer Space this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTarJ0Op7W8? If so, I'll try and watch it myself. I keep forgetting that YouTube even has movies these days.

[Sxottlan]

It's interesting that, while I've seen a few other films from that year long after the fact (The War Zone, Ratcatcher), my evolving top ten has gone further mainstream than the other way. I think a lot of it is discovering the replay value of many of these films when they hit the cable channels years later.

Another alternate coming tomorrow.

[ledfloyd]

Unrelated, but every time I see Sxottlan's av I think it's some guy running through a sheet carrying a gatorade bottle.
now that's all i can see.

[Sxottlan]

Another alternate:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v79/Sxottlan/BringingOutTheDeadpic3.jpg

Bringing Out the Dead: Directed by Martin Scorsese ****

"Rose's ghost is getting closer."

Okay, show of hands. Who else here also wanted this to be Taxi Driver 2? Bringing Out the Dead was my first Scorsese film on the big screen after only renting most of his films from the 70's up to the 90's. I remember my slight disappointment at the time at how I didn't think this movie was violent and psychotic enough. Now, several years later, it's positively psychedelic in light of Scorsese's output in the aughties.

Detailing three days in the life of a NYC paramedic in the early 90's, the film does draw parallels with Scorsese's previous collaboration with Paul Schrader for its bizarre nightmarish trips, this time across three nights as Nicolas Cage's Frank Pierce becomes further unglued. The idea is that he hasn't saved a life in months, starting with Rose, a girl whose ghost now stalks Frank. And she's getting closer. Cage gives an effective performance of a person just so tired and wracked with guilt that he goes to increasingly drastic measures to keep the ghosts out. When the film opens, he's already scrapping bottom. Somehow, Frank finds a way to keep digging deeper.

We restlessly glide through the city streets with Frank and his trio of increasingly demented partners, starting with the fairly balanced John Goodman to the flat out insane Tom Sizemore (despite being intentionally late, Frank's boss won't fire him because they need the help). Each call just seems to get worse, starting with a patient obviously brain dead, but whose body keeps going. Frank's attempts to assure the man's family are less than half-hearted, but he's drawn to the daughter, a hot mess named Mary (Patricia Arquette).

Just from that description, it might be astonishing to learn that Bringing Out the Dead is actually an incredibly lively and funny film (Scorsese apparently took the title from Monty Python and the Holy Grail). Scorsese infuses the film with a funky soundtrack that was very memorable and one that I bought on disc afterward. Upon getting the DVD, I would watch the sequence set to The Clash's "Janie Jones" over and over again. Accompanying the sound is Robert Richardson's glossy camerawork, which flips and rolls as the rigs race through the streets. Scorsese would tone it down for his next three films, but I always admire the vaguely self-aware camerawork that more than anything, tries to show us something different. I'm glad to see the two are re-teaming for Shutter Island.

Given Schrader and Scorsese's background, you catch on to the religious iconography and symbolism fairly quickly. However, all these years later and I'm still not really sure if it ever adds up to anything coherent. Certainly, Frank Pierce's ordeal (pierced flesh?) lasts for three days and on the last day, while he may not exactly be risen, he has certainly rested. Richardson's camera lights up Frank as though he's glowing from within as he descends into the netherworld of a homeless ghetto. He's tempted to the dark side (the most shocking act of violence more implied than seen when two EMTs decide to ambush and beat up a homeless man), but does find redemption and learns to lay down his burdens.

Ultimately, a simple tale then. However, it's one embellished in a beautiful and sometimes terrifying vision that also finds unexpected mirth in the gallows humor of emergency medical technicians. Ving Rhames has a memorable little role as Frank's second partner, a lustful and spiritual man who uses an overdose as a chance to preach the word ("Rise up, I Be Banging!"). Scorsese has a funny cameo as a dispatcher. Cliff Curtis continued a solid breakout year in 1999, appearing in Three Kings and then this film as a mellow drug dealer.

Now working in a field that regularly deals with emergency crews, I can sympathize all the more with burnout that these people can suffer. The nihilism that always threatens to overtake someone who has seen too much. Mean World Syndrome they call it. I think more than anything, perhaps what Frank is able to reconcile is that he truly is just human and he can live with it.

[Ezee E]

Very nice Sxottlan.

[Pop Trash]

You know, I saw that in the theater when I was a freshman in college and was stoked to be seeing a Scorsese movie on the big screen after discovering Taxi Driver and Raging Bull on video, but I can't remember that much about it. I'm pretty sure I liked it though. Definately needs a rewatch.

[The Mike]

Hey, I was a member of this class! Self high five!

1. American Beauty
2. The Limey
3. Any Given Sunday
4. Galaxy Quest
5. Election
6. The Talented Mr. Ripley
7. Sleepy Hollow
8. Office Space
9. Deep Blue Sea
10. The Blair Witch Project

[Sxottlan]

Bear with me:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v79/Sxottlan/brendan_fraser4.jpg

The Mummy: Directed by Stephen Sommers ****

"Have you no respect for the dead?"

What a blast! What started as a mildly entertaining film has sustained over the years to become an action comedy favorite. There is not a moment of Stephen Sommers "remake" of The Mummy that takes itself seriously. There's a perfect blend of horror, action and comedy elements to create a trifle that is never too sweet going down.

Opening less then two weeks before The Phantom Menace, this movie was the real herald of the CGI fests that would rule the summers during the next decade. It's also one of the better examples. Why the very first shot is a vast sweeping visual effect, starting with what we at first think is a static shot of the sun only to reveal a fast moving camera over the pyramids at Giza into a bustling Thebes plaza. Ten years later and the lighting is still just right, making the city look startlingly real.

One interesting aspect of the film is the apparent conscious decision to not only open the film on the villain, but also give him a very sympathetic back story. Everything the mummy does, he does it for love. Entombed alive for messing with the Pharaoh's mistress, we're warned that High Priest Imhotep could arise again as a plague upon the earth in a voice over by Oded Fehr that builds until he's practically shouting at us.

It's this kind of camp that has helped this film survive. There's an ample amount of both physical slapstick and verbal back and forth between the characters that work incredibly well. There are echos of 1930's screwball comedy in the arguing between Rick O'Connell and Evie which they attempted in the last sequel but with far less success. That actually implies a real chemistry between Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz (who looks a bit cherubic here, but all the better for it). These characters are painted broadly, but also warmly.

The film is filled with these kind of lovable characters. Even the competing American team who find a cursed book are not treated as total villains. Also well done is the performance by Kevin O'Connor as the sniveling Beni, who turns to every deity known to man in an attempt to save himself. It's interesting because I absolutely hated O'Connor in what I saw of Sommers' Deep Rising. While he just screamed a lot in that movie, here he gives Beni a strange innocence. When he's told that his kind always get theirs in the end, he's genuinely concerned. The only character as written that felt somewhat mean-spirited is the warden Gad Hassan, who is regularly referred to as smelly.

On the action front, it's interesting to note that the film does not descend into the rapid edits that sink most action films. In fact, I'd say there's a surprising amount of economy to many of Sommers' shots. Nothing too fancy and gets the job done with a minimum of cuts (people fall out and back into frame for example). I think much of the direction is inspired by the old serials that clearly served as an inspiration for the film (there is a lot of violence seen only through shadow). Editing-wise, the film hums along. The opening prologue set in ancient Egypt is perfectly paced.

The boatload of computer animation made for some of the earliest use of those special effects for the purpose of horror. One of the best shots is a beetle that crawls up out a hole in Imhotep's chest and into another hole in his mouth where he absentmindedly chews on it like a stray morsel. It's entirely gratuitous and for the sake of itself, but still fun and just a little icky. Also well done is a scene set in a tomb from the point of view of a person who lost his glasses. That's book ended by another great scene as that same wonderfully pathetic person, now blinded by the mummy, thinks he's greeting a royal prince only to discover he's returned to finish the job.

While I had enjoyed the film as a holdover until Star Wars could open, it was repeat viewings on cable television stations like TNT (calling it a "new classic") that showed The Mummy's humor not only stayed funny, but got better with age. Now, years later this film has far more staying power than Episode 1 or even the last Indiana Jones film, a franchise that obviously inspired this one. Indeed, The Mummy was a nice holdover and showed that kind of adventure could still work in this day and age. While the success of this film spawned a franchise, it was an example of diminishing returns. We only ever needed the first one.

[MacGuffin]

Yeah, The Mummy is pretty good popcorn entertainment.

[EyesWideOpen]

I've attempted to watch The Mummy three or four times now and can't make it more then 30 minutes.

[Grouchy]

You know, the logo of the Argentinian distribution company for most mainstream movies (something-Suez) start inside an Egyptian pyramid, goes out into a storm and finally settles on pretty picture of the desert.

The first time I saw this logo was when I went to see The Mummy and I thought the movie had started already. Later I spoke with many people from my generation and they all (at least three of them) remembered the exact same experience.

[Sxottlan]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v79/Sxottlan/lg_galaxyquest.jpg

Galaxy Quest: Directed by Dean Parisot ****

"That ship? That ship is that big."
"But inside I have seen many rooms."

Ask any number of Trekkies out there (myself included) and they'll tell you they like this satire of Star Trek and its rabid fan base better than a number of the actual Trek films. I myself consider it far superior than any of the Next Generation films and this was evident right away as Parisot's film opened a mere twelve months after the abomination unto the Lord known as Star Trek: Insurrection. A decade later, the ninth Trek film is unwatchable while Galaxy Quest remains a favorite.

Watching the film again last week, I found what I thought was even more depth to a film that is less about science fiction and more about just the concept of fiction and make believe. "Lies" as it's described by the naive Thermians, a species that has modeled their entire collapsed civilization on an 80's television show from Earth called Galaxy Quest and enlist the show's actors to help. They buy it all hook, line and sinker. While you might sit there and wonder if they worry if the poor old lady ever found the beef, the film questions if culture is really important enough for a piece of art to find context and therefore, meaning.

Before you answer, it's worth noting that the Thermians' innocence and absolute belief in the stories somehow brings new meaning to the actors playing the characters. A better ensemble cast from 1999 there wasn't. Modeled perfectly after the buffoonish super-ego of William Shatner, Tim Allen's Jason Nesmith finds a genuine ability to command when he's given a real starship. Fred Kwan (Tony Shalhoub) fills the role of the one actor who looks vaguely "ethnic" and was therefore carelessly thrown into the role of Tech Sergeant Chen ("Kwan's not even my real name!"). Interesting that he develops the closest relationship with a Thermian woman who, like all her species, also disguises herself as a human.

Mostly known for his villainous roles, Alan Rickman was fantastic as the disillusioned Alexander Dane, laboring under Nesmith's shadow and hating his alter-ego, he nevertheless still wears the Dr. Lazarus make-up in the privacy of his own apartment. His most affecting scene is when he delivers his much abused catch phrase to a dying Thermian as last rites and it somehow makes him born again.

Sigourney Weaver's Gwen DeMarco conversely discovers how she was cast purely for looks and acknowledges all she has to do is repeat the computer. She is routinely in situations where the show's frayed logic is translated to real life peril, including an obstacle course and a timer that has to count down to one before stopping. December 1999 was also very good to Sam Rockwell, who started getting noticed with his role here and in The Green Mile. Here he's the red shirt who is convinced he's going to die. If the Thermians willed everything else from the show into existence, why not the token cannon fodder too?

Another angle explored is the concept of space and time. From the exchange quoted above between Nesmith and Mathesar (an overlooked Enrico Colantoni), much of the film looks at these concepts from a child's point of view. Not that the film is condescending to the Thermians because as mentioned above, their pure belief empowers the actors and shatters their cynicism (not to mention Mathesar grows into a capable commander). Here the actors are reminded of the incredible power of the film medium, where the edits aren't questioned. Where what you see is what you get. Mathesar cannot believe the ship seen on screen does not contain multitudes. Reality to him is still malleable. To reinforce Mathesar's view, we the viewers at one point see the actual NSEA Protector stretch and condense into a something like a fiber optic stream of light passing through a wormhole. Once we get into space, will our take on reality change for us too? Where rocks reshape themselves into something vaguely humanoid?

Employing production values far exceeding the actual Trek film from the year before, Galaxy Quest is the rare combination of science fiction and humor that works incredibly well. Ten years later and the film is still very colorful, popping off the screen. The few loop holes (berillium spheres from the show actually exist somewhere in the galaxy!) are overlooked because it's so entertaining. For a Trek fan, there's an added layer of humor from all the in-joke references including Nesmith losing his shirt in a fight to all the backstage tension between certain castmembers to pretty much Rockwell's entire role. And among the explosions and laughs, it's a knowledgeable film about the visual medium and its power; wisely letting that come through the characters and their actions instead of telegraphing it through exposition and pretentiousness.

[Sxottlan]

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Office Space: Directed by Mike Judge ****

"I did absolutely nothing and it was everything I thought it could be."

The thing with Office Space is that it's never quite how I remember it. I've seen this film probably about seven or eight times over the past decade and while everyone remembers the jokes, it's not really about the jokes. It's a gentle comedy where much of the laughs are mined by how bad-ass it pretends to be.

I was like the majority of people who did not see this film during its theatrical run. I discovered it in the fall and the film actually crystallized many of my fears about entering the working world. I graduated that semester and did temp work in cubicle hell that winter. Most of the time I did that work I was thinking of this film and actually feared that would be my whole future. It took years (and a second bachelor's degree) before I could find something that I generally liked doing and does not involve a cubicle.

In many ways, the film's no-name participants help sell the movie better than any A-list cast (and the one recognizable face is a little distracting). Ron Livingston really hadn't done anything before this and we totally buy him as Peter, seething and frustrated programmer for Ini-Tech, as generic and pointless a name as its competitor Ini-Trode (mistakenly called something that brings to mind a violation [Pene-Trode]). Peter barely has the will to hang on before a occupational hypnotherapist puts him a carefree state. It's a bit of a contrivance, but one that the movie quickly gets past.

On his own, Peter probably couldn't prop up the whole film. But Mike Judge fills every corner of the movie with a wonderful supporting cast of character actors who create a roster of lovable and pathetic characters. Their scenes with each other without the main characters are among the best, chiefly the exchanges between Stephen Root's Milton and Gary Cole's Lumbergh that promise violence simmering just under the surface.

When violence does explode on the screen, it's incredibly cathartic. Most of the time, the rage is so suppressed, it only manifests itself in out-of-left-field hardcore rap on the film's soundtrack. It could very well be the music that our characters are hearing in their heads to make them feel more confident as they hatch a sloppy plan to rip off the company. It makes for incredibly funny scenes, such as the classic printer massacre.

These moments are the few times that Judge really employs any visual flourishes. Otherwise, his novice direction is incredibly straightforward and the banality of his shots adds rather than subtracts from the whole. There's a simple shot early on of our heroes walking down and then up a drainage ditch that seems to recall gerbils in an exercise wheel. But perhaps I'm not giving Judge enough credit here? That's only one of several shots that appear so simple yet convey much. One subtle dolly pan moves Lumbergh from a dominant to submissive role as he speaks to the two Bobs, consultants brought in to streamline the company. One minute he's discussing another employee. The next he's in the hot spot and it's done so effortlessly. And as Roger Ebert noted in his original review, we eventually realize that Judge's shot compositions have completely hemmed Milton into his cubicle as opposed to Peter, who unscrews his cubicle wall, which falls away to reveal a startling panorama of... an access road. But it's better than nothing.

Another shot shows great use of location shooting. A slow track outside a house to a backyard party reveals a glaring white water tower that dominates the neighborhood landscape so completely. Its presence a testament to poorly planned urban sprawl, perhaps indicating the homes as yet another square confine we put ourselves into? Indeed we never do find out where this film is set. We sense it's Texas with the endless suburban sprawl and office parks.

We realize that the deus ex machina sitting before us for the entire film still shouldn't have completely wrapped up all the loose threads that it did. But by then, it's entirely forgivable as Office Space has served not only as one of the most relatable comedies in recent memory, but also as a warning that we are not meant to spend our lives this way.

[Sxottlan]

I guess I've totally lost the crowd, but ever onward:

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Sleepy Hollow: Directed by Tim Burton ****

"Their heads were not found missing. Their heads were not found at all."

Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow is, even after a decade, one of the best looking films I’ve ever seen. There is a duality to the stunning visuals that seamlessly blend the real with the artificial. You can’t be sure where the set ends and a painting begins. The visual blend extends to the film’s themes, exemplified by a flat toy with two images that create a third when spun. “You can do magic,” a country girl and kindly witch tells Ichabod Crane (Johnny Depp). Nope. “Optics,” he tells her. Two sides of the same coin. Literally.

Of my top films of 1999, this film remains high on the list despite of some noticeable flaws, yet it’s overcome by so many positives. Of all of Burton’s films, Sleepy Hollow is his most densely plotted work. It works as a mystery even after multiple viewings. As a horror, it’s effective without dwelling on the gore, most of which was CGI. It’s also one of Burton’s few slam bang action films with thrilling sword play and crazy horse stunts (in one shot, a stuntman looked like he was a split second away from being run over by a carriage).

Considering Burton, pairing him with the headless horseman seems like a natural fit and it is. As far as I know, this is the only film besides the Disney short to tackle this, one of the few American legends, even if its been greatly revised to make Ichabod Crane a New York City detective sent to Sleepy Hollow to investigate three homicides. While it’s a fantasy, I can’t help but think that some parts feel authentic. Being an upstate resident, I enjoyed how the film showed the seldom seen post-Revolutionary War era when upstate was the first wild west frontier.

Crane stumbles into a sort of 18th century Payton Place on the edge of civilization and small town politics really haven’t changed much since. There’s the reverend, the local legal authorities, a doctor and Baltus Van Tassel (Michael Gambone). In one of the film’s most subtle moments, the others offer a knowing chuckle when Van Tassel attempts to describe his place in Sleepy Hollow as a “simple farmer.” Not only does it reveal more, but is done so offhandedly that I really felt like these five men really had known each other all their lives. The magistrate offers other positions Van Tassel holds, all of them titles outside the political realm, but clearly establishing him as both the leader and the Money. The feud revealed in the plot is mirrored in the Van Tassel family tree displayed interestingly enough in the inside cover of an ungainly bible.

When I watch this film, for some reason I’m reminded of Robert Altman’s McCabe and Mrs. Miller. While that film ends with the townsfolk rushing to save a church they had previously dismissed, this film builds toward a siege in a church where the town hierarchy totally breaks down (“Why should we die for you?” asks the reverend). With the devil at the gate, the town leaders fight while the townspeople futilely shoot at the horsemen. Look for a beautiful overhead tracking shot of the carnage in the aftermath.

With Crane comes the beginning of scientific inquiry, albeit an early version that I’m stymied to explain. The film explicitly draws parallels between nature worship and science, one religion had successfully demonized and destroyed, the other on the way in as the next opponent (although it should be noted that the villain offered his soul to Satan to make his vengeance manifest). When he finally sees the horseman, Crane grows to accept it and successfully integrates it into his worldview and no longer fears it. It is real. It has a routine that can be predicted and altered.

Johnny Depp continues to work with Tim Burton to seemingly undermine his own natural good looks. Here, the film remains faithful to the idea that Crane is a milquetoast, even if he is a cop. At one point, he uses a boy as a human shield against danger. It’s a brave performance to play such a wuss. The rest of the large ensemble cast is uniformly great, although Christina Ricci is a bit of a weak spot. She seemed cast more for looking like a living doll. Ian McDiarmid simply must get more work.

The few nitpicks that have emerged over time are pretty minor, but worth mentioning. The villain, when revealed, goes more in-depth into their revenge plot than an actual Scooby Doo villain. The scene slams on the brakes for exposition that isn’t needed. Also, I think more people faint in this movie than in any other film in history. The last instance was completely unnecessary.

That said, Sleepy Hollow has become an annual viewing tradition for me at Halloween. It feels like watching a trip through a goofy and violent haunted house ride. Not perfect, but a bloody good time.

[The Mike]

Great write up. Great film. I dare say it's Top 5 Burton for me.

[Mysterious Dude]

Missed this thread.

For better or worse, 1999 introduced us (well, most of us) to Sam Mendes, M. Night Shyamalan, Alexander Payne, Spike Jonze (and Charlie Kaufman), Brad Bird and the Wachowski brothers. It also cemented the careers of David Fincher and Paul Thomas Anderson. I don't know when I shall see another year like it.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Great thread idea. Like most here, I'd agree that 1999 had some amazing films. The only year I can think to compare it to is 2007, if we're going by films of "my generation."

My ten favorites are so goddamn good that I can't even rank them. Believe me, I tried for the past fifteen minutes.

Bringing Out the Dead
Election
Eyes Wide Shut
Galaxy Quest
The Green Mile
Magnolia
Office Space
Sleepy Hollow
The Talented Mr. Ripley
Three Kings

Looking over that list, it's kinda amazing how much comedy was a part of 1999. 2007 was frequently very serious and dramatic, but 1999 had Election, Galaxy Quest, and Office Space, and even Sleepy Hollow and Three Kings are as witty as they are thrilling.

[Sxottlan]

I'll be curious to see the reaction to this one.

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The Iron Giant: Directed by Brad Bird ***

"Killing is bad."

Wow. Hmm. Did I really misremember this one this badly? Like many, I didn't see this movie in the theatre, but on video. So I'll admit my putting it on my old top ten was based on one viewing. I think I was surprised by a strong emotional reaction to the sacrifice of the titular character, but now rewatching it again close to ten years later, there's too many other things here that are overshadowing the strong character work of the giant robot.

I remember critics at the time going on about the film's satirizing of Cold War paranoia, but watching it now, it feels more strained than what I generally like. While the best example is a film showing a girl miraculously surviving nuclear bombardment by hiding under her desk, the rest of the paranoia in the film borders, ironically, on the cartoonish. Partially, it's the characterization of the screeching lunatic Kent Mansley and the sometimes obnoxious Hogarth Hughes, who goes too far in the other direction.

There is still much to recommend the film. The opening is still a fantastic and mysterious set up. The animation, while kind of basic in some parts (which may have turned some people off to even going to begin with), often disguises a stronger visual style by director Brad Bird than it really has. Most of the film's action scenes are also surprisingly strong and visceral. The stab at old style animation to cover up the slightly more serious plot was probably intentional.

The story itself isn't the real problem on second viewing, it's the two extreme opposing sides. However, it's hard to tell if Hogarth hates Mansley because he's with the government, or because he's a freaking unstable lunatic who tortures young children for information. At first, Mansley is pretty funny (his chewed up car is the funniest gag in the whole film), but he becomes such a loathsome character over the course of the movie, you just want someone to put one right between his eyes.

Hogarth's characterization feels more realistic for a young kid, but that still doesn't mean that he's not annoying. I was a bit incredulous at how, having just barely fooled the army into thinking the robot was a massive piece of junk art, he has the robot out spinning him around like a centrifuge. The damn army convoy isn't even out of town yet and he wants to get back to playing with his new pet! Let's not even get started on the ridiculous contrivance that finally reveals the robot to the army. I sat there kind of slack jawed at how slap dash it felt.

There's always been a bit of preachiness when it's come to Brad Bird's films. There's this feeling that his movies are wagging their fingers at me and that I'm supposed to be learning some Great Truth, no matter how entertaining they've ultimately been. However, maybe I'm just not really getting what he's driving at. I'll admit that I still don't really understand what The Incredibles was saying in the final scene at the track meet. We're being ourselves, but let's pull back a bit to make everyone else feel good and then coast to victory? It came across as condescending.

Here, it's clobbered into us that "killing is bad." Thanks Hogarth. Why don't you go back to playing with your toy gun and pretending to shoot the robot? The iron giant is essentially a blank slate thanks to an accident early in the film and it makes one wonder what his personality was like beforehand. There's a deleted scene on the special edition that would have provided some wonderful back story for the character. As is, he still kind of comes across as innocuously oblivious to things going on around him like a child even after he immediately arrives on Earth.

He ultimately reveals a Mr. Hyde side to him that Hogarth is able to help put under control. On a personal level, I've never been one for full suppression of ones true nature. In this case gain mastery of one's innate reactionary fear. It ties back into Mansley's paranoid fear of the Russians, but it came across here like denying a part of who the robot really is. He is a weapon, but one that never has to be fired so carelessly. By not giving him a back story, the film can skirt around what exactly the robot's purpose is. Is the development of feelings for Hogarth natural or aberrant?

The film seems to argue that the robot cannot come to terms with what he is due to a considerable loop hole. Why doesn't the robot respond to the nuke the same why he does to Hogarth's little toy gun? Why couldn't he it just shoot it down from the surface instead of crashing into it? Instead, we're treated to a touching sacrifice, but one that doesn't ring true on reflection because we remember that, oh yeah, he's pretty much invincible. Which is kind of strange because electrical current seemed to damage him, but the nuclear blast and subsequent EMP didn't. The very ending is cool, but considering that the robot idolizes Superman, perhaps that's why I'm suddenly so distant from the film because I find Superman's near perfection to be a bore.

Maybe I'm just being cynical today. I don't know, but a repeat viewing of The Iron Giant appears to have nearly reversed my earlier opinion of the film. Maybe a third viewing would balance things out.

[Sxottlan]

Still recovering from a big computer meltdown a few weeks ago, but excelsior!

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The Straight Story: Directedy by David Lynch ****

"The worst part about growing old is remembering when you were young."

What a sweet little movie. If you have purchased or seen the soundtrack for David Lynch’s The Straight Story, the notes inside by the director kind of intimates that his film would be infused with irony. Lynch said he saw the kindness in the script as just as absurd and surreal as the bizarre cruelty he usually displays in his film. Yet there’s not a hint of condescension in this film about a determined man adapting to his limitations to make amends.

This is a movie that could have gone wrong so easily. You have the old curmudgeon and his somewhat slow daughter. It could have been played for laughs and while there are a few times when even Alvin Straight (Richard Farnsworth) laughs at his daughter’s inflection, but it feels like a loving relationship.

A disturbance in this otherwise fairly mundane life comes in a foreboding scene when Alvin learns his estranged brother had a stroke. Lynch shoots the scene beautifully, staying on Straight’s face at his daughter’s turn of phrase sure to strike terror into anyone, especially the elderly, when she gets a phone call (“Oh no! When?”). Alvin’s quick slide from content to despair betrays how a call like that can mean yet another friend is gone just like that (echoed from the film’s opening as a friend of Alvin’s comes to check up on him when he doesn’t make a routine appointment at the town bar).

We discover that Alvin is a resourceful and stubborn man. The local John Deere salesman doesn’t try too hard to reason with Alvin when he comes to him for another little tractor; his trip already derailed once.

Farnsworth’s eyes throughout the film betray a haunted man. Haunted by the war sure (those eyes were too good one day). But also haunted by regret over something more recent. His eyes at times are large saucers reflecting Lynch’s trademark spacescape as he often camps out at night. The film parcels out the details about what exactly happened between him and his brother and even in the next to last brief encounter with a stranger, we’re not told much.

Pacing wise, the film, like Alvin, takes its time getting there. By necessity, Lynch often has to cut to montages of flowing fields and life in the country. Accompanied by a score by regular Lynch collaborator Angelo Badalamenti, these interludes take on a feeling of a trance between his strange encounters. There were a few nights after seeing the movie that I would fall asleep listening to the soundtrack. It’s just so peaceful.

And yet, there’s an underlying current of suspense. Just how will his brother respond? The last mile is just excruciating, but in a good way. Lynch even dares to have the lawnmower break down in the last mile and the film just sort of waits as he sits there. When someone comes along, Lynch keeps the camera far away and we’re practically jumping out of our chair to know what’s happening.

When the moment finally arrives, it’s treated matter-of-factly and as a result, beautifully. It’s left a little ambiguous, but you hope beyond hope that things will go well. For a film that often haunted by the unspoken past of the main character, The Straight Story is buoyed by its decidedly non-sentimental approach.

[Sxottlan]

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The Matrix: Directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski ****

"Do not try to bend the spoon. That's impossible. Instead realize the truth. There is no spoon."

Ten years on, there doesn’t seem like there’s much more that can be said about The Matrix. It was among the biggest surprises of 1999 and launched a wave of rip offs and parodies that put the film in danger of growing too stale. Since I can still remember my trip to see the film for the first time, it’s kind of hard to take a step back and really try to watch the film again as though I haven’t seen it.

It’s understandable. Many tied the real explosion of interest in the DVD format to The Matrix and indeed, when my friend got his first player, I can’t tell you how many times we would watch the lobby scene and then simply hit a button and start it all over again. So along with a groundbreaking visual style, the film also ushered in a new way of watching movies.

For all that was groundbreaking, there was plenty familiar about the film. If it weren’t for the uneven sequels, you could make a pretty good case that The Matrix is to Generation Y what Star Wars was for the Me Generation. The stories are very similar, both heralding back to the classic hero myth. Directors Larry and Andy Wachowski go a step further, making pretty overt comparisons to the Christ story. It made The Matrix about the most ass-kicking bible epic ever put to film. The film’s obvious symbolism was endlessly analyzed on the burgeoning film community on the internet (anyone else remember the whole page on Hollywood Jesus devoted to all the symbols in the film?). It’s threatened to make every little line of dialogue overly obvious, but whatever.

Laurence Fishburne gives one of his best performances and is the heart of the film as the John the Baptist character Morpheus, searching his whole life for the One. Turns out to be Neo (Keanu Reeves), a man he is able to train to see past the reality presented him by a machine horde using humanity as their power plants. The film pretty much includes all of the disciples from the New Testament, including Judas and Mary Magdalene. The film diverges from the classic hero myth by not killing off the master; a move that may have weakened the sequels. However, if there was one thing the entire franchise eventually boiled down to, it was breaking cycles, including our cherished hero mythology.

On a surface level, The Matrix was also the third film in two years to directly tackle the idea of a real versus artificial world after The Truman Show and Dark City. It proved to be a popular theme in the late 90’s. Even though it was the last of the three, it’s proven to be the most popular. I’ve always felt a slight twinge of resentment towards The Matrix since I felt Dark City was better, but it was always by a matter of degrees. The two films were out to accomplish different things and both are beautiful films.

The film’s cool stark visuals are another striking character in the film. After awhile, you get the cute in-joke that the reason everything is a slight shade of green is because we’re watching the film through a 1980’s computer screen. In one shot, we take on the point of view of someone watching Neo on a whole wall of monitors. It’s not until the second film that we realize we’re looking at him as the Architect, the original creator of the Matrix. For all the visual effects, on this recent viewing, there was one simple shot that really stood out for me. As Trinity (Carrie Anne Moss) tries to persuade Neo to stay in the car, she tells him he’s already been down that road. It’s always been a bit humorous because the film takes Trinity metaphor literally, cutting to a shot of an empty rainy street. However, if one puts aside the cynical criticism, it’s a beautiful shot that draws parallels between the humdrum life of the Matrix with the dull and dark street: humanity’s future right there.

When it came to the action scenes, the Wachowski Brothers really came out of left field here with The Matrix. Seeing Bound after the fact, there really wasn’t much there to hint at what they were capable of. Now, you can tell that the directors were channeling predecessors like Woo, Cameron and wuxia more than actually innovating new kinds of set pieces. However, I’d still place the lobby scene along such other classic sequences like the hospital shoot-out from Hard Boiled. The film rightly deserved its Oscar for best editing with its long sustained action scenes that wisely did not cut the film to ribbons, instead allowing the action to flow.

The acting across the board is uniformly good. Keanu Reeve’s arguably limited range is put to great use as the everyman dropped into an incredible situation. Not mentioned yet but a nice surprise was relative unknown Hugo Weaving, who really chewed the synthetic scenery as Agent Smith, the villain who reveals a desperate need for his motives. Another relative unknown who had a fantastic one off scene was Gloria Foster as the Oracle, a performance that totally subverted your expectations of a Yoda like character by looking like a grandmother from the projects. By the way, ever notice Morpheus silently nodding to the blind guard in the Oracle’s building? Took me a couple viewings to catch that one.

While I’ve always wanted to do a Marxist reading of The Matrix Reloaded, I’ve never considered applying that to the first film, but there are still some signifiers. Most noticeable is how the rebels, when projecting their avatars into the Matrix, dress them up in stylish fancy clothes. In the real world, they wear rags. When Cypher betrays Morpheus, it’s over an expensive steak dinner. When he goes back into a power plant, Cypher wants to be rich and important. “An actor.” Understandably, the humans are haunted by how their civilization just doesn’t have it as good as they used to. The machines hold all the power; machines that strangely take on animal form in their real world shapes.

Quentin Tarantino has said that the Matrix sequels knocked the original down a peg or two in his estimation. While I loved the second film, I’ll admit it started to go in some silly directions before sort of falling off a cliff in film three. Neither in my opinion diminish the exhilaration and untold possibilities of The Matrix.

[Sxottlan]

Just two more to go! Admittedly, this one's a bit disjointed.

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The Sixth Sense: Directed by M. Night Shyamalan ****

"And he can't stop thinking about it, he can't forget. Ever since then, things have been different. He's not the same person that he used to be."

No one saw The Sixth Sense coming. In the weeks after it opened, it was a joy to watch the film confound everyone by making the same amount over and over as the word spread. Bruce Willis had a bomb open 16 months earlier that on the surface resembled the plot of this film, so I don’t think anyone was expecting anything. The director was unknown and a major supporting character was a child. I had no idea if was going to work. It still works marvelously well, even as a few metaphysical questions pop up here and there to stop and make you wonder (just where did Malcolm get that report on Cole?).

The film works entirely because of the pairing of Bruce Willis and Haley Joel Osment. There was much made about the performances of Osment and Toni Collette, but it’s the scenes between Dr. Malcolm Crowe and Cole Sear that are the mesmerizing core of the film. The dialogue between them feels natural and realistic and the absolute seriousness and respect that Malcolm affords Cole makes them feel more like equals rather than adult and child. Note the famous scene where Cole finally reveals the nature of his affliction to Crowe. The doctor doesn’t flip out or roll his eyes. He stays absolutely calm, never breaking eye contact and asking clarifying questions. It might seem like it makes the film self-serious, but I found Willis’ measured response to Sear’s growing terror calming and meditative.

The film really is more drama than thriller, although its few moments of horror are quite effective. A simple shot of someone walking past the foreground behind someone is a startling moment. The film tapped into what made some elements of Japanese horror so effective: people being some place where they’re just not supposed to be.

I thought that perhaps I should preface any discussion of the film’s twist with some warning, but Jesus, really? Screw it. Malcolm’s dead. I don’t think I’ve ever encountered a film that had a twist that so thoroughly upended everything beforehand while being well, sort of simple and obvious. The main character is shot. Then after a fade to black, he hooks up with a kid who sees dead people. Never once did I make the connection. The movie hums along so quickly, I never notice the little hints. How Malcolm wears variations of the same outfit the whole time (note how much is made of layering up and disrobing in the prologue when he’s alive). Or Cole’s subtle reactions to seeing Malcolm in the early goings.

The problem with most of the subsequent films of M. Night Shyamalan during the ‘00’s was how he tried to outdo this ingenious and simple little twist he created for this film. The thing is, none of those twists really spoke to the level of character development upon second viewing as it did in The Sixth Sense. While the twists in Unbreakable and The Village reveal the extreme measures characters will go to, the twist in The Sixth Sense instead reveals a huge leap of faith on the part of Cole. Always fleeing the ghosts, for the first time Cole doesn’t run away; most likely because Malcolm isn’t as gruesome as the others have been, but also because he can feel his innate sense of goodness.

Like many great twists, the ending reveals a double meaning to pretty much all of the dialogue that came before between Malcolm and Cole. Most affecting of all is the farewell between the two, when Cole knows that Malcolm is soon destined to learn what has happened and leave this plane. You can feel how he wants to tell him, but understands it’s something Malcolm must do on his own.

For only his sophomore effort, Shyamalan displayed a wonderful command of shot composition. There’s the red symbolism that was much discussed when the film was released, but his framing of shots was strong (and took a leap forward in Unbreakable) and continues to look it to this day. Of note, the slow, so very slow, fade in from black in the opening shot and the negative space Anna encounters when she goes into the basement. She’s on the left and there’s a black shadow across much of the basement. The shot pretty implicitly states there is someone there, but you can’t see them. Fantastic opening and still a fantastic film.

[MadMan]

Good stuff, Sxottlan-even though The Matrix is merely a solid film. Its overrated in terms of how good it is, but its impact on movies isn't. If that made any sense.

[Sxottlan]

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Toy Story 2: Directed by John Lasseter ****

"How long will it last, Woody? Do you really think Andy is going to take you to college, or on his honeymoon? Andy's growing up, and there's nothing you can do about it."

There is unbelievable amount of depth to the screenplay for Toy Story 2. Ten years on, the film’s visuals are a bit dated, especially when it comes to the humans. However, the film’s themes and the way they’re expressed through the story and plotting are astonishing and incredibly satisfying. Following a decade of relatively disappointing sequels, Toy Story 2 was a revelation. I recall comparisons were made with The Empire Strikes Back and The Godfather 2 and I’d say they’re apt.

I don’t know as if I could call Toy Story 2 an “art film” per se. It is a film where just about every action and scene carries more than one meaning and every subplot or character arc is cleanly wrapped up by the end. It is also a film very much in love with film itself, referencing tons of other movies. I’d say this was the last movie to really reference classics from the 1950’s, including a plot out of The Searchers and a climax where the villain is blinded the same way as Rear Window.

What sets the film apart is the obvious theme of identity and self-worth as generated by the Other; a theme that equally applies both to children and adults. Having persuaded my film class to use the topic of identity to apply to different films back in college, my one and only suggestion to my work group was Toy Story 2. As the first film was about Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) discovering what he really is, the sequel is about Woody (Tom Hanks) discovering who he really is. The procession mimics that of a child’s development, making me wonder what will happen next in Toy Story 3.

A sly opening makes us think the film will once again focus on Buzz only to startlingly shift to Woody with a single laser blast (turns out Rex wants to be Buzz by playing him in a video game). It becomes a recurring motif as characters strive to become others, through behavior or appearance. Woody is stolen from a garage sale by an unscrupulous toy collector. Come to find out, Woody is a highly valued antique toy. The revelation of his intrinsic value in a different culture and society rocks Woody’s world. And echoing John Ford’s classic The Searchers, there’s no way to know if he’ll want to go when Buzz and the gang show up to rescue him.

Finding value from within, the toys discover, is the key to a useful long life. The relationships between children and toys are depicted in intriguing ways here. One toy is forgotten and we watch her go into a seemingly catatonic state until an accidental interaction with her owner revives her. How do these toys see these children? As gods? If so, it brings a humbling spirituality to the film as the plot is sparked by the capriciousness and fallibility of these gods (brought to vivid life by Woody’s nightmare of being thrown away). There’s a moment that’s exactly like the one I described in my review of The Matrix where Neo stares down an empty street, knowing what’s there. Woody looks down a vent, contemplating the short future it promises and he eventually decides, why not?

Wonderful moments abound touching on the theme of identity. One of the film’s riskiest moves is to actually introduce a second Buzz Lightyear taking over most of the action towards the climax, a Buzz still deluded about what he is. The other toys don’t seem to notice when they think it’s still the original, which naturally flows into several jokes. The mass produced nature of Buzz hits him like a ton of bricks when he turns a corner in a toy store, walking a hall lined with versions of himself. An even more startling image comes a few minutes later when he becomes trapped in a toy box (resembling a futuristic coffin), struggling to break free as the camera pulls back to show his indifferent brethren.

Another angle that I hadn’t thought of until recently is the standard hero mythology and “chosen one” subplot. Instead of Woody complete subsuming himself into this new position and culture, the ending finds harmony, merging the two together once the villain is defeated. The film ends on a subtle sex joke that makes me laugh as much for how it got in as much for what it is. That joke is a light touch to end an incredibly deep and rich film experience, where there’s something going on every shot propelling forward an intriguing story and memorable characters. Right now I can’t see why Toy Story 2 shouldn’t be my new top film from 1999.

[Sxottlan]

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Fight Club: Directed by David Fincher ****

"On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero."

Ruminating on the film despite not having seen it in many years, I was wondering if I’d still enjoy David Fincher’s Fight Club even as my opinion of its philosophy has changed over the years. Thankfully, the film remains an engaging and lightning paced psychological thriller with some disturbing undercurrents reverberating through the prism of 21st century terrorism. This film was one of my most anticipated films of 1999 and it did not disappoint. I remember running into the college paper newsroom and staking my claim to writing the review or else I was practically set to knife someone.

While I’ve revisited other films from 1999 set in the present day, the other films had more timelessness to them. Fight Club very much feels like a product of the late 90’s with Tyler Durden complaining of there being no great war for his generation to fight. The film’s satire is based in part on the idea that everything’s going so well, therefore an underground fight club helps Generation Xers feel the exhilaration of violence they might otherwise never feel. The laughs come in how this is seen as no different than AA at first (maybe that’s why Ebert so famously disliked the film until recently).

Another sudden realization of the film’s age is the appearance of Brad Pitt as Tyler Durden. It’s hard to figure out just where he went from being the young punk to the more meditative type we’re seeing lately. Exuding a raw and easy charisma, the narrator (Edward Norton) quickly falls into Durden’s orbit, even as it becomes evident that he’s a mess. The narrator thinks he’s living a fulfilling life ordering everything out of the IKEA catalogue, obsessed with brand names (his mental trip through a garbage can focuses on Starbucks and Krispy Kreme items).

Durden doesn’t agree and soon he starts pushing back…hard. What begins as underground boxing clubs turns into Project Mayhem and the shift is so subtle that it feels incredibly natural. Why not? Terrorist organizations attract the disenfranchised, whether they’re orphaned youth in war torn countries far away or white collar workers in the ‘burbs. The film pegged the root cause of terrorism years before too many would be blinded by nonsensical excuses like “They hate our freedom.” Durden’s power is no different than any fanatical leader and my recent viewing made me feel that Tyler could just be one of the most underrated villains in film history. Slouching around in a beat up woman’s bath robe, he starts building an army in an apparent bid for a forced return to an agrarian society. He chants as his space monkeys farm a garden behind his HQ.

His lieutenant at his side, the narrator becomes increasingly alarmed at what’s happening. Upon turning himself in though, the revelation of the plan to destroy credit card companies has a certain ring of the juvenile about it. Like it’s something that a kid might think would be devastating. Maybe it would be, I don’t know (I use a debit card). Indeed, the narrator says he’s a 30-year old boy. I sit here now, watching the film and I think that Tyler doesn’t see it’s more complicated than that. He seems to underestimate human gluttony and excess and how much we indebt ourselves to get there. I don’t get it. I don’t understand how debt can be a good thing. To show that I can be responsible by paying back?

Then there comes the twist. I remember literally sitting on the edge of my seat in the theatre the day this film opened when it was revealed. The twist goes a long way towards explaining the apparent hypocrisy of Durden. He tells the narrator that self-improvement is masturbation, but then in the very next scene, Fincher’s camera gets Durden’s ripped six-pack in all its glory. At the end, he’s wearing a shirt covered with pornographic images. Now there are times I still wonder what exactly was the point for the split personality. There’s a couple ideas. I do like the possibility of Tyler not knowing what he’s doing half the time; that his sub-conscious is rebelling against his stagnate existence. This is contrasted by the revelation that Tyler Durden is really how the narrator really wishes he looked. You’ve never felt the contrast between them more than at the twist’s reveal. There is also the powerful impact that it’s not this other person really at the center of a domestic terrorist group. It’s him! And the narrator tries to take the moral high road and try to seek punishment for what he’s done.

When it comes to Fincher’s filmography, Fight Club is his most lively and funny film. All of his other films have had a more somber tone, but here he dabbled a little in wacky visuals and even some slapstick. Ultimately, I’m glad that Fincher has not gone in this direction all the time, staying more meditative and detached, such as in Zodiac or Seven. Still, I’m glad that he at least appears to have a sense of humor.

[Sxottlan]

That's it. All done. I think I'm most surprised by how little my opinion of these films have changed over a decade. Maybe it wasn't long enough. The only change I would make to my top ten list would be to drop The Iron Giant and bump Bringing Out the Dead back up. Still, this has been a fun little nostalgic exercise.